Global Weekly Update November 14, 2011

World AIDS Day Is December 1 — We All Can Do Something

On World AIDS Day, we can all be part of the conversation about the dream of ending AIDS. Could it really be on the horizon? Don’t let December pass you by without taking the opportunity to do something within your group and within your community to mark World AIDS Day and link it to our on-going support of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

• Media is powerful. Have you pitched the idea of a World AIDS Day story to your local paper? Our World AIDS Day editorial packet is posted in the press briefs section of our website.
• Our November Action Sheet provides great guidance on writing a letter to the editor of your local media outlet about the end of AIDS. Rally your RESULTS allies and write to your paper for World AIDS Day. We have also created an action alert so that you can use our template to submit the letter on line to multiple papers. Remember to personalize your letter.
• Have a small group discussion about a story like those found in the book 28 Stories of AIDS in Africa, or share the Topsy Foundation video chronicling the dramatic story of an AIDS patient.
• Listen to and discuss Secretary Clinton’s November 8 speech on the idea of an AIDS-free generation.
• Start talking now with your groups about attending the 2012 International Conference and inviting community allies who are engaged in HIV/AIDS work to come along with you. Our conference will dovetail with the International AIDS Conference, and the synergies have the potential to be powerful! We are committed to making this International Conference the biggest yet so that our voice on the Hill will be that much more impactful.

The Senate Is Still Delaying the Foreign Assistance Debate — We Can Stand Ready to Defend

Senate leadership has delayed the consideration of the foreign aid appropriations bill for fiscal year 2012, but we don’t want to be caught off-guard when the debate finally moves forward. We know that a strong grassroots call to preserve foreign assistance will be crucial.

The foreign appropriations bill funds critical, life-saving, poverty-focused foreign assistance. But the funding is in danger. Your voice right now could help save it.

When this bill finally goes to the floor for a vote, many senators will offer dangerous amendments to slash funding. The House version of the foreign aid bill is already a dramatic $5 billion lower than the Senate version and 20 percent below the FY 2010 level. If the Senate and House come together to reconcile the two versions of the bill, and the Senate bill has been slashed, negotiations will start at a much lower funding level. The outcome for foreign aid and human lives could be grim.

We know that foreign aid cuts won’t help the deficit because foreign assistance is less than 1 percent of our nation’s budget. Consider what a Washington Post op-ed writer and speech writer for President Bush wrote earlier this year:

“Not all sacrifices are shared equally. Some get a pay freeze. Some get a benefit adjustment. Others get a fever and a small coffin. This is not fiscal prudence. It is the prioritization of the most problematic spending cuts — a disproportionate emphasis on the least justifiable reductions. One can be a budget cutter and still take exception to cuts at the expense of the most vulnerable people on earth.”

Defending smart foreign assistance investment is what we do best. Take a look at our newest action alert and mobilize your local RESULTS allies to make calls to your senators. So far, at least 33 activists have made calls. Let’s help that number grow by leaps and bounds. Speak out in defense of foreign assistance today. We are poised to make a difference.

The U.S. Makes Its First-Ever Global Partnership for Education Pledge!

The U.S. has now made its first pledge to the Global Partnership for Education. Your savvy, multifaceted advocacy was critical to this success. Well done!

At the November 8 meeting in Copenhagen, the U.S. pledged $20 million in FY12, pending the appropriations process. While the amount was lower than we’d hoped for, this is pledge is still a landmark step; we hope will lay the foundation for a more robust pledge in FY13. In difficult economic times, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) provides a cost-effective way to deliver aid to education using resources currently available. Overall, donors pledged $1.5 billion for the next 3 years (2012–2014), with the hope of additional commitments to reach $2.5 billion by 2014. We hope the U.S. will contribute to meet this goal.

Now, with this victory under our belts, we’re in an even stronger position to advocate for the passage of the Education for All Act of 2011. So far, we have 53 of the 100 cosponsors we wish to have, which means we are over halfway to our goal. Here’s who is on so far:

Baldwin, Berkley, Blumenauer, Capuano, Carson, Castor, Connolly, Conyers, Davis (IL), DeLauro, Ellison, Eshoo, Farr, Filner, Frank, Garamendi, Heinrich, Himes, Hinchey, Holt, Honda, Inslee, Jackson Jr., Johnson, Larsen, Lee, Lewis, Lofgren, Lujan, Maloney, McDermott, McGovern, McNerney, Moore, Moran (VA), Napolitano, Norton, Olver, Pastor, Peters, Price, Quigley, Reichert, Richardson, Ryan (OH), Schakowsky, Serrano, Smith, Stark, Towns, Waxman, Woolsey, Yarmuth

Have you asked your congressperson to be a cosponsor?  Utilize and share the powerful education media you generated this fall and make the request. You might find that your House member might be grateful to know this legislation exists as a way for him/her to show support for the leadership the U.S. began to demonstrate at the GPE replenishment meeting in Copenhagen.

Can we get to 100 cosponsors by December 1? Sure we can!

Fundraising: RESULTS Activists Continue to Impress

A huge congratulations to all our fundraisers so far this year including: Miami, Denver, NC Triangle, Albuquerque, Inland Empire, New York, Sitka, San Diego, Columbus, Seattle, Tacoma, Houston, Chicago, and Austin, and Santa Fe. So far, our combined events have raised $174,000 in grassroots fundraising! This exceeds our accomplishments of last year, and we’re not even finished yet. These are the kinds of events that keep children in Head Start classes, provide life-saving medications, make microloans available to the poorest of the poor, and transform lives all over the U.S. and around the world.

If you know anyone to invite to the DC wine and cheese fundraiser this Thursday, November 17, please contact Cindy Levin right away for more information. Fundraisers are also planned for Boston (11/27), Indianapolis (11/28), Bremerton (12/4) and San Jose (12/6), and we’d love your help with inviting folks to these events as well.

Foreign aid is neither a failure nor a panacea. It is, instead, an important tool of American policy that can serve the interests of the United States and the world if wisely administered.

— Retired Congressman Lee H. Hamilton

November 16: Second night of two-session RESULTS New Activist Orientation, 9 pm ET. (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262 (corrected).

November 17: Washington, DC Fundraiser. Contact Crickett Nicovich for more information. 

November 27: Boston Fundraiser. Contact Cindy Levin for more information.

November 28: Indianapolis Fundraiser. Contact Lisa Marchal for details. 

November 30: RESULTS Introductory Call. Register today!

December 4: Bremerton (WA) Fundraiser. Contact Beth Wilson for details.

December 10: Global Conference Call. 2:00 pm ET. (888) 409-6709.

December 12: RESULTS Introductory Call. Register today!

July 21–24, 2012: RESULTS International Conference in Washington, DC

RESULTS has moved! Our new address is:
RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund, 1730 Rhode Island Ave, NW, Suite 400, Washington DC 20036

No change to phone numbers; new fax number to be updated soon. Thanks for your patience as we complete our transition.